Better Than You Know
by xxVegetasTorturistxx
Summary: Bulma wonders about Vegeta. Vegeta thinks about Bulma. Can Bulma get him to open up?
1. Chapter 1

_I've often wondered why he keeps to himself so much... whether he just isn't socialized... or whether he's hiding something from us. After today, I can't imagine that my wondering will lessen. _She sighed as she looked out her bedroom window. She walked onto the balcony and looked down as Goku and Vegeta fought in her backyard. _He's so strong, so confident in battle... why is it that he isn't more outgoing? You'd think with an ego like that he'd be talking to anyone and everyone all the time. Anyone else would, with an ego like that, but nope, not Vegeta. Could it be he's like this because his ego is __too__ big? _She smiled as Vegeta started his meniacal laughter, as he did before finishing off any opponent. She walked downstairs and out the door, to get a better view of the finale and chat with her best friend, Chi-Chi.

"Hey Bulma! Your little housemate is being a bully to my husband again!"

"Calm down, Chi-Chi. Goku will be fine, they aren't actually killing each other." Bulma giggled as Chi-Chi glared at Vegeta's back. "I wouldn't let him catch you doing that, I have a feeling I'd have to sweep you off my porch."

They both laughed, meanwhile Goku, who was previously hit with Vegeta's final attack, was walking toward them, smiling as usual. "Hey Bulma! About time you got down here, but you missed the fight..."

"I saw plenty, Goku. I see you lost again, that's been happening a lot recently. Have you been slacking on your training?" Bulma teased him.

"What? No! Vegeta's just getting better, that's all!"

"Yeah... Vegeta spends hours in the Gravity Machine everyday. He needs to get a social life... bad."

"I've noticed that he doesn't seem to have any friends... I feel kinda bad for him. I've tried to be his friend, but he never seems to let me get to know him." Goku sighed, seeming defeated. "Why don't you try it, Bulma?"

"I've thought about it before, but... I don't know... knowing my luck, either he'd kill me or if I did get him to open up, I'd find out a lot more than I ever wanted to." Bulma lied through her teeth. She wanted to know everything about him, ever since she met him on Namek.

Vegeta walked over to them, sneered, and walked inside the house.

"You think he knows we were talking about him?" Chi-Chi stated, somewhat scared.

"I doubt it. I think he would've said something..." Goku said quietly.

Inside, Vegeta stalked up to his room, then walked into his bathroom. He turned the shower wated on as hot as it could go and stripped off his battle armor, stepping into the shower. He sighed in relief as he let his muscles relax under the intense heat. He closed his eyes and thought about the fight. _That's right, Kakkorat... I beat you again. You're falling behind and it won't be long now before I, Vegeta, the Prince of All Saiyans, become the strongest warrior in the universe, and surpass you at last. _But then his thoughts trailed to the aftermath of the fight. _Why did the woman wait so long to come out? I wish she had seen my victory... what am I saying?! I shouldn't care if she saw or not! It does not matter if anyone sees! But... I suppose it would've been nice to hear someone congratulate me... whatever though, it doesn't matter. But to the Gods, I know one thing. She is the most... beautiful being I've ever laid eyes on. GOD DAMMIT I must stop these thoughts. Though they are true, it shouldn't matter. It __can't__ matter to me. I must remain strong, even in the presence of such a tempting, gorgeous possible mate... what I would give to take her... _"Dammit!" He growled, slamming his fists against the shower wall. He stepped out and dried himself off, leaving his hair down to hang slighlty past his shoulders. He sighed and flopped on his bed as he exited the bathroom and closed his eyes.

"Vegeta..." He heard a small voice pipe up. "We need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

He opened his eyes and looked toward his bedroom door. Seeing Bulma, he scoffed and rolled over. "What do you want, woman?" He groaned, pretending he wasn't interested in talking with her.  
She came and sat on the bed next to him, sighing.

"Listen, I know you and me have never really seen eye to eye but ... I don't know, I'd like to know a little more about you if you're going to be living with me."

Vegeta stood up and glared in her direction. "Listen, woman, I'm only here until I defeat the androids, and then I'm destroying this planet. I thought I'd made this clear before, but then again, it is YOU I was talking to, probably went in one ear and out the other." He smirked and walked out the door.

Bulma furrowed her eyebrows and took off after him. "Fine! You know what? I'm not letting you use my Gravity Machine then!"

He stopped in his tracks and growled, turning around to face her. She had his smirk planted on her face, arms crossed in a triumphant stance. "Blasted woman..." He mumbled.

"What was that, Vegeta?"

He then looked up to her eyes, returned the smirk and laughed slightly. "You think you've won, don't you?" Her expression fell for a moment, as if confused. "You, the so-called genius, didn't seem to remember the other planets I could go to and train." He then turned away and began walking down the hallway again.

_DAMN HIM!_ she thought. "Vegeta, wait!" She called out, walking after him again. Surprisingly, he stopped and turned in her direction. "Look... I just... I don't want you to go. I kind of like your company, even though we get into fights a lot... it makes the days interesting." She smiled and laughed. "So... I guess you can use my machine... even if that is all you're here for..."

His heart broke at the words, but God forbid he'd ever let her know that. That was far from all he wanted here, far from all he stayed here for. He snapped back into reality and smirked. "Good. I was hoping you'd change your mind." He turned on his heel and walked out to the afformentioned machine. When he got out there he laid in the middle of the room for a long while and just thought about everything. He sighed, stood up and walked to the door. He looked out the small window that was in the door and saw Bulma outside, laughing and chatting with her friends that had arrived. Kakkorat, Chi-Chi, Krillen, Piccolo... no... that couldn't be Yamcha... could it? There was a man with his back toward the machine, talking to Bulma, their bodies very close. The Saiyan prince growled and punched the wall next to him. It was Yamcha. _WHY?!_ He inwardly screamed. _WHY does she have to always go back to him?!_ He looked out the window again and saw them kissing, and again his heart broke. He fell to the floor and banged his head on the wall a few times, reminding himself of just how stupid he was for not taking his chance when he had it. "Dammit, woman... I love you." He whispered to himself. He felt something on his face and wiped his hand over it. He looked at his fingers and saw tears, which both angered and scared him. _I CAN'T get weak... I can't..._ He thought once more.

Outside, Bulma pushed Yamcha away and threw his drink she had so kindly brought him in his face. "What do you think you're doing?!" She screamed. "I told you before, we're done! Now get off my property and stop ruining everyone else's day you fuckin' asshole!" He fumed and wiped his face off, then smacked her with that same hand. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, catching everyone's attention, including Vegeta's.

Vegeta's eyes shot open and he stood, looking out the window again. Bulma was on the ground, and he could see a large red mark swelling on her face. Unfortunately, Kakkorat and Piccolo were nowhere to be seen. Krillen and Chi-Chi were struggling to hold Yamcha back, but he broke free and got on top of Bulma again, smacking her twice more. The Saiyan growled, his instincts taking over. He flung the door open and flew over to the scene, kicking Yamcha in the ribs, which sent the bastard flying to the other side of the yard. Vegeta looked down at Bulma, who was staring at him in shock. "You okay, woman"

She nodded, but Vegeta knew it was a lie. The red, swollen spots on her cheeks, the bruises on her arms, and the cut on her lip spoke more truthfully than her words. The anger inside Vegeta could be felt by all of them, emitting from his every pore. He flew after Yamcha and gave him a good right-hook to his cheek, then kicked him high into the air. Yamcha hacked up blood as he sky-rocketed into the clouds. The Saiyan appeared above him, interlocked his hands and punched Yamcha's head, sending him back to Earth, his face grinding on the ground for about forty feet, before he finally stopped. Chi-Chi, Krillen, and Bulma looked on, seeing if Yamcha was dead, or if he was going to get back up, Vegeta slowly floated back down to Earth and kicked Yamcha in the ribs, rolling him over. He got down on his knees, leaned over his opponent, grabbed his collar and growled into his ear. "Get the fuck out"

Yamcha got up as quickly as he could, glared toward Bulma, thinking about attacking her once more, but Vegeta stopped those thoughts with a kick to his back. The man then flew off, feeling defeated and humiliated. Chi-Chi ran over to Vegeta and hugged him, which took Vegeta by surprise and he tightened every muscle in his body. "Oh, thank you, Vegeta... if you hadn't come out I don't think Bulma would be here right now..." She let him go and they both looked over to the blue-haired woman. Goku and Piccolo, of course, had just emerged from the house and Kakkorat was picking her up. Vegeta yelled over to them.

"HEY!" Piccolo, Goku, and Krillen all looked over to him. He smirked and flew over to them. "I think this is my responsibility, is it not?" The three of them raised their eyebrows at him, but Goku handed her over. The prince nodded and carried her up to her bedroom, laying her down in her bed. He went to her bathroom and got a wet cloth, then walked back out. He sat next to her and dabbed the cloth on her forehead, cheeks, and lip. "You okay?" He asked softly.

She nodded and opened her eyes. "Thank you..." He gave a small smile and looked at her for a few moments.

Woman...what happened"

She sighed and wiped the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes. "I really don't know... I just... I invited all of them over, hoping we could all be civil about everything, ya know? Well, Yamcha asked me for a drink and I, in the kindness of my heart, got him one. When I brought it back out he said, 'thanks babe', and kissed me, after I told him countless times last week that we were over, for good this time. Then, I proceeded to scream at him and push him away... called him an asshole and he got mad... and just started... hitting me." She wiped her eyes once more.

He just nodded, telling her that it was okay to show her emotions. "Woman..." He spoke after a small silence. "Why do you always end up back with him"

She laughed, but it seemed more like she was laughing at her own stupidity. "I really don't know, Vegeta." There was another silence, but this time, Vegeta had nothing to fill it with. He just looked around the room, but then she finally spoke again. "Vegeta"

"What, woman"

"Could I... could I hug you"

His eyes widened and he rubbed the back of his head... "I... uhhmm"

"Just this once... for saving me"

"I... I suppose... but just this once." He saw her try to get up, but then started laughing. "What are you laughing at"

"I can't get up, could you help me"

"Sure... but it isn't my fault if I hurt you." He smirked. Bulma lifted her arms up to him and he gently wrapped his around her, lifting her slowly up to a sitting position. He held her close and inhaled her sweet perfume, suddenly she started crying and he stiffened up again, not sure of what to do. She rested her head on his shoulder and clung to him, so he followed his instincts and hesitantly rubbed her back. She looked into his eyes and sniffled.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta... it just hurts"

"I know..." She smiled and laid back down in bed. "I'll let you sleep." Vegeta said, standing up and beginning to walk out of the room.

"Vegeta..."

"Hm"

"Could you...lay down with me? I'm just scared... that's all"

He hesitated. "Umm... sure... I'll lay down with you."


	3. Chapter 3

He laid there for what seemed like hours, when in reality it had only been about ten minutes. He wouldn't lie, at least to himself, he was nervous. The small woman's battered and fragile figure asleep next to him. He wanted so bad to hold her, to touch her, to at least tell her that he would protect her from that rat bastard... but because of his pride, he was forbidden. He looked to his right and sighed as he saw the woman asleep next to him. He reached his hand out and brushed his fingers over her cheek, making her smile. He smiled too, but stopped his touches.

Sighing again, he questioned whether or not he should move, whether she would mind if he DID hold her, and whether or not he had even the slightest chance with her being in his life. He closed his eyes as the thoughts entered and exited his restless mind.

His thoughts then switched to things of the past, things he would have rather forgotten long ago. He thought of the day his planet was destroyed before his eyes, the day his father died, the last time he saw his mother, the numerous times that Frieza had beaten and raped him for all those years, and many other things that no one ever deserved to remember. Too many emotions to handle were filling the Saiyan prince up by the second, and he didn't know how long he would be able to last without breaking. He looked to the woman again, and prayed that the peacefullness she showed on her face would calm him, but no such luck was coming his way today.

He suddenly began to feel his emotions physically taking effect. His chest hurt from the heartbreak, his fists clenched from the anger, his eyes burned from the sadness, and he had no idea what to do. He laid there helpless, wondering what he should do. Wondering if he moved if she would wake up and find him in this state? If he didn't move would he wake her? There was no way out of her catching him off-guard and he finally gave up. He flew up into a sitting position and covered his face in his hands, praying that she couldn't hear the muffled cries that he were wracking his body.

Seconds later, he felt the bed shift, and two hands started to rub his back, but for some reason, he didn't care. He didn't stop himself. He didn't leave. He just stayed there and hoped luck would come his way and nothing bad would happen for once. "Vegeta..." She whispered in his ear. "Are you okay"

He removed his hands from his face, took a deep breath, and turned himself around to face her. He knew he must look pretty torn up, because the woman looked genuinely concerned. His eyes were red and swollen, tears streaming down his face, which was also flushed and swollen. "Do I look okay?" He said quietly.

Bulma, who almost started crying herself, leaned forward and hugged him. "I'm confused, Vegeta"

"What's got you confused, woman?" He asked, pulling away. He wiped his face off and took a few more breaths. "I didn't think you were the type of person to just randomly break down like that..." She smiled, hoping to relieve him. "Woman... when you've had a life like I've had... tou break down easier and more randomly than anyone else could ever fathom." He tried to smile, but found it a wasted effort, as his face just twisted itself back into the pained expression it previously held. He flopped back down on the bed and covered his face.

Bulma laid down next to him and pulled one of his hands away. She felt something in the pit of her stomach, like the feeling she got when she first met Yamcha, but stronger. Something told her to kiss him, but she ignored it, as it probably didn't know that she'd get killed if she even tried. "You know, Vegeta... you can tell me what you're thinking about. I won't tell anyone that you broke down like that. I promise"

He looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't lying to him. He took a deep breath and began. "Woman, I've had... a really shitty life"

"I can only imagine"

"You can't even do that. Unless you can imagine everything you've ever known to be life being blown up before you eyes when you're only 4 years old, seeing your father get killed fighting for YOUR life, being beaten and raped for 16 years by a person you hate, watching your mother die on your bedroom floor when you're three..." He went on, telling her in detail about his life and all the terrible events that had ever occured in it. As he went on, the tears came again, along with the clenched fists and the brokenheartedness. Bulma was near tears when he finished and they both sat there for an eternity, neither saying anything or looking at the other. "And now you know... why I am the way I am." Vegeta spoke softly. He stood up and began walking out of Bulma's room.

"Vegeta... come back over here." "No, woman. I'm going to the gravity chamber"

Bulma then stood up and quickly walked over to him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and kissed his cheek. "No you aren't." She whispered.

"Woman, get off of me"

"No, Vegeta, please... stay in here and talk to me, please"

He looked into her eyes and sighed. "Fine. I'll stay." He walked back over to the bed and laid down, followed by Bulma, who laid next to him.

"Vegeta... tell me about your life when you were a kid"

"How old of a kid"

"Like when you were on planet Vegeta"

"Oh, so REALLY little kid. Umm... let's see here... to be honest, it isn't as interesting as you'd think. I'm a Prince, woman, I didn't have a social life. I'm sorry if that upsets you"

"You didn't have any friends"

"Never have"

She smiled and cuddled in a bit closer to him. "I'll be your friend." She said quietly. He laughed quietly and closed his eyes. She yawned and rolled over so her back was facing him. "I think I'm going to take a nap again, if you don't mind"

"Sounds good to me, woman." He got comfortable and was near sleep when he felt Bulma's hand take his and guide his arm over her body. He smiled and moved her closer to him, inhaling her perfume once more.


End file.
